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173
Dead and Wounded
Even as Waddell and Moore sought
to prevent the deaths of the men imprisoned
at the jail, skirmishes between blacks and
whites continued into the night. The
Messenger reported that at about 8: 35 on the
evening of the eleventh, blacks and whites
exchanged gunfire along Belcher’s Row in
Brooklyn. About an hour later more shots
were fired along Fourth Street near Harnett.
Sporadic fighting raged through the day on
the tenth and into the night, and the dead
were left on the streets where they had
died. 54 Whites forbade families from
tending to their dead and wounded, leaving
the dead on their backs in the streets with
their eyes open as a warning to others.
White doctors asked authorities to explain to
all that blacks would be treated at the
hospital, and, as a result, a number of black
patients were brought into the hospital on
the eleventh. 55 On the afternoon of the riot,
African American coroner David Jacobs
drove through town and moved some of the
dead to D. C. Evans funeral home on Second
Street near Princess to hold the inquest. 56
It appears that the men retrieved by
Jacobs were the ones who received an
54 Hayden made the claim that five or six black men
wearing their work coveralls were shot and killed
after Mayo was wounded. Their “ bodies were
allowed to remain stretched on their backs with their
eyes open as a warning to other blacks.” The
Messenger reported that although several bodies were
moved by coroner David Jacobs to a funeral home,
some still “ lay last night where the men were shot
down.” Hayden, WLI, 89; Wilmington Messenger,
November 11, 1898.
55 The hospital, City- County Hospital, was later
replaced by James Walker Hospital. City- County
Hospital was located in the same general vicinity as
James Walker, in the area bounded by Rankin,
Gwynn, Woods, and Dickinson Streets.
56 The Dispatch claimed that “ not one of the negroes
who were killed was a native of the State but were a
delegation brought in from South Carolina prior to
the election.” This claim cannot be substantiated.
Evening Dispatch ( Wilmington), November 12,
1898; Wilmington Messenger, November 14, 1898.
inquest. Most likely the bodies were picked
up for inquest and burial because they had
family in the city with the means to provide
for proper burial. Other less fortunate men
were buried under the cover of darkness by
family members who were unable to pay for
burial and grave markers. Of the men who
received the inquest, burial for John
Townsend, Charles Lindsay, William
Mouzon, John Gregory, Josh Halsey, and
Dan Wright took place on the eleventh. 57
Jacobs’ investigation was farcical
and delayed. He first attempted to hold an
inquest at the funeral home on the eleventh
at 10: 00 in the morning. The morning’s
review was then delayed until 3: 00 in the
afternoon. The rescheduled hearing was
again delayed until 9: 00 on the twelfth and
was moved to the courthouse. At the
inquest on the twelfth, the coroner’s jury
consisted of four white men— Colonel John
W. Atkinson, E. P. Bailey, J. B. Huggins,
William M. Cumming— and two black men,
Elijah Lane and J. W. Yarborough. 58
Official coroner’s records do not survive,
57 Only two grave markers in Pine Forest Cemetery
bear death dates related to the riot. Josh Halsey’s
entry recorded that he was born around 1846, and
died November 10, 1898 of a gunshot and was buried
in the Halsey family plot, section C. Sam
McFarland’s record indicated that he was born in
South Carolina around 1850, “ died of a gunshot in
his body” on November 12, 1898, and was buried in
lot M or N, section 2. A review of the cemetery log
also proves inconclusive since those two men are the
only ones listed. Another person, Samuel Hall, age
12, died of gunshot wounds and was buried
December 22, 1898. No information has been found
to clarify if Hall received his fatal wound as a result
of the riot or some other incident. Parts of the
cemetery have disappeared over time and many
burials may have gone unrecorded. Further, some
private and church cemeteries have also disappeared.
Pine Forest Cemetery Records, ( microfilm), State
Archives, North Carolina Office of Archives and
History, Raleigh.
58 Wilmington Messenger, November 11 - 13, 1898;
News and Courier ( Charleston) as quoted in the
Wilmington Messenger, November 15, 1898;
Morning Star ( Wilmington), November 11- 13, 1898.

173
Dead and Wounded
Even as Waddell and Moore sought
to prevent the deaths of the men imprisoned
at the jail, skirmishes between blacks and
whites continued into the night. The
Messenger reported that at about 8: 35 on the
evening of the eleventh, blacks and whites
exchanged gunfire along Belcher’s Row in
Brooklyn. About an hour later more shots
were fired along Fourth Street near Harnett.
Sporadic fighting raged through the day on
the tenth and into the night, and the dead
were left on the streets where they had
died. 54 Whites forbade families from
tending to their dead and wounded, leaving
the dead on their backs in the streets with
their eyes open as a warning to others.
White doctors asked authorities to explain to
all that blacks would be treated at the
hospital, and, as a result, a number of black
patients were brought into the hospital on
the eleventh. 55 On the afternoon of the riot,
African American coroner David Jacobs
drove through town and moved some of the
dead to D. C. Evans funeral home on Second
Street near Princess to hold the inquest. 56
It appears that the men retrieved by
Jacobs were the ones who received an
54 Hayden made the claim that five or six black men
wearing their work coveralls were shot and killed
after Mayo was wounded. Their “ bodies were
allowed to remain stretched on their backs with their
eyes open as a warning to other blacks.” The
Messenger reported that although several bodies were
moved by coroner David Jacobs to a funeral home,
some still “ lay last night where the men were shot
down.” Hayden, WLI, 89; Wilmington Messenger,
November 11, 1898.
55 The hospital, City- County Hospital, was later
replaced by James Walker Hospital. City- County
Hospital was located in the same general vicinity as
James Walker, in the area bounded by Rankin,
Gwynn, Woods, and Dickinson Streets.
56 The Dispatch claimed that “ not one of the negroes
who were killed was a native of the State but were a
delegation brought in from South Carolina prior to
the election.” This claim cannot be substantiated.
Evening Dispatch ( Wilmington), November 12,
1898; Wilmington Messenger, November 14, 1898.
inquest. Most likely the bodies were picked
up for inquest and burial because they had
family in the city with the means to provide
for proper burial. Other less fortunate men
were buried under the cover of darkness by
family members who were unable to pay for
burial and grave markers. Of the men who
received the inquest, burial for John
Townsend, Charles Lindsay, William
Mouzon, John Gregory, Josh Halsey, and
Dan Wright took place on the eleventh. 57
Jacobs’ investigation was farcical
and delayed. He first attempted to hold an
inquest at the funeral home on the eleventh
at 10: 00 in the morning. The morning’s
review was then delayed until 3: 00 in the
afternoon. The rescheduled hearing was
again delayed until 9: 00 on the twelfth and
was moved to the courthouse. At the
inquest on the twelfth, the coroner’s jury
consisted of four white men— Colonel John
W. Atkinson, E. P. Bailey, J. B. Huggins,
William M. Cumming— and two black men,
Elijah Lane and J. W. Yarborough. 58
Official coroner’s records do not survive,
57 Only two grave markers in Pine Forest Cemetery
bear death dates related to the riot. Josh Halsey’s
entry recorded that he was born around 1846, and
died November 10, 1898 of a gunshot and was buried
in the Halsey family plot, section C. Sam
McFarland’s record indicated that he was born in
South Carolina around 1850, “ died of a gunshot in
his body” on November 12, 1898, and was buried in
lot M or N, section 2. A review of the cemetery log
also proves inconclusive since those two men are the
only ones listed. Another person, Samuel Hall, age
12, died of gunshot wounds and was buried
December 22, 1898. No information has been found
to clarify if Hall received his fatal wound as a result
of the riot or some other incident. Parts of the
cemetery have disappeared over time and many
burials may have gone unrecorded. Further, some
private and church cemeteries have also disappeared.
Pine Forest Cemetery Records, ( microfilm), State
Archives, North Carolina Office of Archives and
History, Raleigh.
58 Wilmington Messenger, November 11 - 13, 1898;
News and Courier ( Charleston) as quoted in the
Wilmington Messenger, November 15, 1898;
Morning Star ( Wilmington), November 11- 13, 1898.